Batteries Not Included
by Liliana Celeste
Summary: Mia Barclay struggles in her daily life living in Chicago with her single mother and younger brother. After Andy's birthday, he recieves the Good Guy doll he's always wanted. Mia's life is thrown into chaos when multiple murders suddenly start happening. Mia starts to question her sanity when she starts to believe that Andy's doll is indeed alive. Takes place during "Child's Play"
1. Chapter One

"_Pour some sugar on me. Ooh, in the name of love. Pour some sugar on me. C'mon, fire me up. Pour your sugar on me. Oh, I can't get enough. I'm hot, sticky sweet. From my head to my feet, yeah_."

Mia Barclay's ears were painfully numb due to the loud bass speakers surrounding the huge house party she and her friends were invited to for the night.

Def Leppard was creating quite the party, making people all around dance suggestively to the sexy tune of the song.

Mia maneuvered through the throng of dancing teenagers, attempting to find some place quiet to clear her head.

Her best friend, Sebastian, followed after her.

"Mia, where are you going?"

"This place is too loud. It's giving me a headache," she complained, heading for the front door that was blocked from several people standing around.

"Excuse me, trying to get through, people!" she hollered, pushing through bodies until she found access to freedom.

Finally, she was outside the house and she welcomed the cold, crisp air of Chicago.

It was currently around 11:00 on a Friday night.

Her overprotective mother was going to kill her once she comes home.

Mia made sure to stay away from any drinks at this party to avoid further trouble.

She wanted to have a clear head to come home safely.

Chicago wasn't exactly the safest place at night.

"Ah, much better," she sighed in relief, standing off to the side on the lawn and crossing her arms, observing the ludicrous party from outside.

The music was blasting and people were all over the place, destroying everything in sight.

Whoever owned this place was going to have so much fun cleaning up the next morning.

"Gee, Mia. Such a party pooper." Sebastian teased, standing opposite of her.

"Screw off, Sebastian." Mia joked, punching his shoulder.

"You know me. I hate parties. It's only an excuse to get wasted and hook up with random people," she continued.

"It's fun though," he said, while Mia rolled her eyes.

"Maybe for you. Whatever. I'm gonna bounce. I'll see you on Monday." Mia said, moving past her taller friend.

"See ya, party pooper." Sebastian called, and Mia spun around briefly to give him the finger, making him laugh at her blunt gesture.

The house party was located on the suburbs of Chicago, so she only had to walk for about ten to fifteen minutes before she'd get home and have to face her mother.

The night was cold and dark, so she had to move fast.

Lots of thugs preferred this time of night, and unluckily for Mia, she wasn't carrying a can of pepper spray or a weapon.

She forgot her can at home.

A gust of wind howled and blew through her blonde locks.

She shivered and walked quicker.

The sidewalk she was walking was obscured in darkness, the street lamps did no justice to light the street properly.

The gloomy atmosphere made things worse since no cars rolled by.

This part of the city was most abandoned late at night.

As an attempt to ease her nerves, Mia whistled a tune.

She was extremely exhausted, and a little cautious.

It's all about surviving in Chicago.

Recently in the newspaper, there were a few mentions of deaths from the past few weeks and it happened in this particular area.

Just keep walking.

She followed her orders and quickened her pace forwards.

Mia wished she brought her friend to walk her home, but at the same time, Sebastian would probably think of the wrong idea.

Mia knew for a fact that her friend was into her, it was very obvious, but she was already taken by someone who just didn't happen to want to come to the party.

A rough hand clamped tightly on her shoulder and yanked her backwards.

Mia screamed from the sudden contact, but another hand slapped over her mouth, abruptly cutting off her alarmed scream.

Before she even realized it, she was smashed against the alley wall, the rough creases of the bricks digging into her back.

Mia was greeted by the horrid stench of cigarettes and garbage.

Through her startled tears, Mia narrowed her eyes and her vision cleared.

A dirty thug that was inches taller held her tight and brought out a small handgun out of nowhere.

The disgusting man held it threateningly towards her neck and she shrank back in fear.

"Give me your money, bitch!" he spat.

She recoiled from his rancid breath; he smelled like he hasn't showered in weeks.

"I don't have any money," Mia said as she struggled but she knew it was useless, the man was overpowering her.

"You're lying to me," the man growled, digging the gun into her neck.

Mia whimpered and remained still, not wanting to piss off the man, but much to her dismay, she was already doing that.

But she didn't know what else to say, she really didn't have any money.

Now that she was thinking about it, she didn't even bring her damn purse.

"I'm not," she argued. "Please, I have nothing on me. I have nothing to offer you."

"Nothing, eh? Looks like you got something to offer," the creepy man suggested, suddenly grinding his pelvis into her, making her gasp in revulsion.

"Get off of me, you filthy pig!" Mia shouted, not caring anymore about the fact that the man was threatening her with a gun; he just clearly showed her that he had far worse intentions for her, and she was not about to suffer through that.

She'd rather die than be tortured so vulgarly like that.

She started violently struggling.

The man fumed.

"Hold still, bitch!"

"Help! Somebody please help!" she cried, continuing to squirm in the man's grasp like a fish out of water.

The man only pressed himself closer, clapping a grimy hand again over her mouth, muffling her cries and pleas.

Tears spilled from her eyes and moistened his hand, making him laugh.

This was not how Mia pictured her death; she wanted to die as an old lady, warm in her bed, not raped and beaten to death by some worthless mugger on the street.

Her eyes closed and her heart sped, she knew nobody was going to come for her help, and she really didn't expect them to.

Barely anyone had a heart in Chicago, most people were cold and cruel.

Mia hated this damn city she lived in.

"Why the tears, sweetie? You and I are gonna have so much fun together," the man crooned in a nasty voice and Mia cringed back.

"Not without me, you're not."

A knife was plunged deeply into the mugger's back and a malicious laugh was followed afterwards.

The mugger's eyes widened from surprise and he slumped forward, gasping for breath.

His hand loosened over Mia's mouth and she watched as her attacker weakened and finally fell backwards until she assumed he was dead.

Mia's breathing was harsh and ragged; her eyes still glued to the dead body now collapsed to the ground.

Directly centered in his back, a knife was embedded deeply, causing dark blood to ooze around the wound.

Mia slowly averted her eyes and suddenly realized that she wasn't alone.

Another man, much younger and cleaner, stood over the dead body with a sick smirk spread across his face.

"Stupid fuck. Feelin' up on little girls late at night. Disgusting. Eh, what the hell? Been waiting to gut that bastard up like a fish for ages. And it was worth it." The man laughed, as if it was the most hilarious thing in the world.

His loud laugh startled Mia, making her jump.

At first, she was relieved that this man helped her with the previous disgusting perv, but now she was growing extremely uneasy with this new guy.

She observed him closer; the man had long shabby brown hair and a pair of shockingly icy blue eyes.

"Um, thank you for your help," she said quietly, catching the man's attention.

"Don't sweat it. Although I have to ask, what are you doing out on the streets this late at night, _alone_?"

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Date Posted: 10/14/14

**I originally planned a VD crossover of this, but I didn't like the way it turned out, so I wrote this new story out instead. Halloween is approaching very soon, and I wanted to do another horror story :) Well... what do you guys think? I know it's not much so far, but things will progress soon enough :D**

**- Nina **


	2. Chapter Two

"What makes you think I'm alone?" Mia challenged. She attempted to appear intimidating, but inside, she was quivering with fear and anxiety. God only knew what this man's intentions were, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to stick around to find out. From his looks alone, he didn't look like no average man. For God's sake, he just murdered a man before her innocent eyes.

"What makes _me_ think you're alone? Ha! Well, let's see here… the only person I see in this shitty part of town is you, and the previous asshole I saw was obviously trying to fuck your brains out before I stepped in to save your worthless ass. So, sweetheart, I'm pretty sure you're alone. Unless if a pansy boyfriend of yours or something ran from ya and left you for dead."

He only received silence from Mia.

"What's the matter, Cherry? Never been in this part of town before?"

"I have," she answered carefully. She looked down and avoided his penetrating icy gaze. "Just not this late at night."

"Ah, I see. Beginner prostitute?" he asked, smirking.

"What?"

He laughed at the horrified look on her face.

"I'm just fucking with ya, Cherry."

"I'm not a prostitute," she argued.

"Good, you're too pretty and innocent to go into prostitution anyways." He bent down and snatched the knife that was sticking out of the mugger's back.

"Thanks, I guess." Mia said, quietly.

"Go home, Cherry."

"I was already doing that." She said before following his orders and running down the alley, never once looking back to see the man with steely eyes disposing of the mugger's body out of sight. The short encounter was strange, but after all, the man did save her life, so she owed him. The rest of the trip home, Mia ran, in fear of stumbling upon another rapist. The cold wind of Chicago howled and the main streets buzzed with city commotion. People shot her odd looks as she zoomed by, wanting to get home quickly, just in case.

Once she was safely inside her apartment, she shut the door and locked it firmly. She sighed and leaned her head against the door, the security of home sweet home enveloping her. That was likely, the scariest moment she's ever experienced, so far. Her heart was still pounding painfully against her chest and her breathing was constricted in short, panting breaths.

As she calmed, the inviting aroma of her favorite, sugar cookies, caught her attention. Across the small, plain living room, the kitchen counter had a plate of cookies nestling, tempting her appetite. She was through the apartment in seconds, determined to have a cookie.

Big, round, and fluffy looking, the cookies looked perfectly baked. If there was anything her mom was good at doing, it was baking goods including cookies, pies, and cakes, anything desert related. She picked up a cookie and bit into it, crumbs littering the floor.

"And just where have you been, young lady?" a stern, familiar voice asked from behind.

Mia jolted from surprise and she stared guiltily at her mom with the half-eaten cookie still attached in her hand.

"Hello to you too, mom." Mia greeted with a false smile, her mouth still full from the sugary treat.

Her mom, Karen, was a struggling, single mother with short, curly blonde hair and kind eyes that sparkled like the depths of the ocean. Mia strongly resembled her mother; inheriting the blonde hair and similar pretty eyes.

"I asked you a question, Amelia. Don't attempt to change the subject." Karen scolded, firmly placing her hands on her hips and regarding her daughter with those stormy eyes.

"I was at a study session," she lied. Mia knew the lie wouldn't last long, as her mother saw straight through her, which was strange.

"Right," Karen was unconvinced. "So, tell me, how _fun_ was the party you went to?" she asked, bluntly, narrowing her eyes and crossing her arms.

"Tons of fun," Mia answered, dryly, before she continued truthfully. "I left early because it was dumb and stupid."

"Dumb and stupid, like your decisions?" her mother quirked a small smile.

"Thanks, mom. I love you too." Mia retaliated, sarcastically.

Karen chuckled and approached her daughter who continued to eat her sugar cookie. She placed her hands on Mia's shoulders, regarding her with a serious expression.

"I want you to be more careful, Amelia. There are dangers surrounding us in Chicago; my heart can't take it if anything bad happened to you."

Mia listened to her mother's words silently; thinking intensely about the previous encounter she had to endure this night. She didn't want to inform Karen of what happened, in fear of her mother becoming more strict and protective. Her mother didn't have to know; Mia was safe and alive. If her mother found out, Mia didn't even want to know what her mother would do.

"I'll be fine, mom." Mia assured and her mother nodded a bit hesitantly, and Mia added, "It's late. You should be getting to bed. Tomorrow's a big day for Andy."

"My little boy… turning six… my, the years go by so fast," Karen boasted, softly, smiling. Mia shared a smile as well and leaned to kiss her mother goodnight before she snuck another cookie in her hand and moved towards her bedroom, located on the opposite side of the apartment.

Her room was adjacent to Andy's room while their mother's was on the other side of the stretched hallway. Safely inside her bedroom, Mia crashed on her bed, her vision floating up to the plain ceiling while finishing off the last of the cookie. As much as she tried to ignore, the thoughts of the murder came in disturbing images back to her mind. She couldn't imagine forcing a sharp blade into someone; the violent thought alone made her cringe.

The man with eyes the color of a stormy night who saved her, why, she just realized that she never caught his name. It struck and made her wonder if she was ever going to see him around again. Perhaps, if she did, she could thank him properly and earn his name – whatever it could be. Maybe a James, Daniel, Robert, the choices were endless on what the stranger's name could be.

Mia's curiosity soon ended and her eyes slowly drifted to a dreamless, obscure sleep.

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**Date Posted: 10/20/14**

**A/N: Terribly sorry for the short chapter, they will get longer :D Thank you so much to my **Guest** reviewer and **The Beatles Honeydoll22** for reviewing last chapter and giving me hope that this story isn't a failure :D I really appreciate the feedback and I hope more people read this! **

**- Nina **


	3. Chapter Three

Noises and tiny footsteps running along in the apartment caught Mia's ears. Her eyes struggled to open. A fraction of opening her eyes burned and she groaned softly as the noises grew louder. One peek at the digital alarm clock informed her that it was around six o' clock in the freakin' morning. And it was only Saturday.

"Motherfucker," she cursed, tiredly, trying to drown out the voices of her brother and mother by stuffing her head under the pillow. She heard her bedroom door open and she whined. Why couldn't her brother have slept in a little longer?

"Mia! Mia! Time to wake up!" the birthday boy shouted, enthusiastically. The now six-year old boy with brown hair and eyes jumped on Mia's bed and impatiently shook her awake. "Guess what, Mia? It's my birthday!"

"I know," said Mia as she lifted the pillow from her head and flipped herself over so she was lying on her back and looking up at her adorable brother who was busy making himself comfortable by sitting on her stomach. "Happy birthday, baby bro. How old are you today?"

"I'm six, silly." Andy chided, as if she were the six-year old and not him.

"You're getting old," she commented, with a small smile and ruffled his hair. "Okay, happy birthday, Andy. Now beat it, you're crushing my abdomen." She tickled his sides, successfully earning squeals from the little boy, and he jumped off her.

"What's your abdomen?" he asked, innocently, looking at her with those curious chocolate orbs.

"Stomach," she clarified.

"Oh," Andy awed, transfixed by this new piece of information. Then a change of subject and he continued, "Guess what, Mia? I made you and mommy breakfast."

"Breakfast," Mia repeated questionably, before she realized there was a tray filled with food on her bedside table. Burnt toast with a glob of butter, overfilled bowl of cereal, and an orange. "How thoughtful," she said, picking up a piece of burnt toast and taking a hesitant bite, not wanting to upset her brother. She almost choked from the dry pieces.

"Tasty," she coughed, while Andy stared at her, looking quite proud of himself for attempting to make breakfast.

"Hurry up, Mia – we're about to open presents."

"Oh, are we? Cool. Give me a sec to change and I'll be out there."

"Okay," Andy nodded and skipped out of the room, shutting her door in the process.

She gagged from the burnt toast and put the piece back down on the plate before pushing off the covers and sitting up. Much to her annoyance, the sun was already out and shining through her transparent curtains, showering light into the room. She needed to get darker curtains to obscure the irritating sunlight.

Forcing herself out of the bed, she threw on a spare fluffy robe she found lying on the floor and departed out of her room. Andy zoomed past her in the hallway, holding a huge box. Karen followed after the excited boy. Mia tightened her robe and took a seat on the couch, her eyes watching as her little brother impatiently ripped the paper from the box and her mom sat next to him eagerly.

The smile on Andy's face disappeared as he saw what was hidden inside the box. Mia noticed her brother's disappointed expression and felt a pang of empathy for Andy as their mom pulled out a pair of jeans. _Really, mom. Really._ Mia knew that Andy wanted new toys, not freakin' clothes.

"Well, what do you think?" asked Karen, holding up the pair and pressing it against the boy's waist, comparing the jeans to his size. "You really needed a new pair. Looks like it'll fit, just have to trim it down a couple inches."

Karen stopped talking as she recognized her son's upset face.

"What's the matter, honey?"

"He's a kid, mom. Clothes don't do a birthday present justice." Mia said, rising from the couch and heading towards the kitchen. Instantly, she saw the mess that Andy made as he attempted to make breakfast. She groaned, knowing she would be responsible to clean that up.

Karen sighed, "I know, you want some new toys, don't you, Andy? Not boring clothes. Here, maybe this will help." She passed a Good Guy tool kit to Andy, hoping that would cheer him up.

"I want a Good Guy to go with it." He frowned.

Karen paused before explaining, "I know you do, but I didn't find out in time this month to save enough for it."

Andy nodded reluctantly.

Mia cleaned up the kitchen counter and composed a plan in her head, considering she technically hasn't gotten a present for Andy yet. After she finished cleaning, Karen unwillingly announced that she had to go to work today, so Mia would have to watch Andy for the day.

After Karen left for work, the siblings dressed in warm layers of clothing before departing the apartment and going outside.

"Where are we going, Mia?" asked Andy as he held his big sister's hand while they walked together through the streets covered with a thin layer of snow.

"Crazy, silly goose. I already told you it's a surprise." Mia lightly smiled, keeping her little brother close, just in case another psycho tried to harm them. At least Mia came prepared with a can of mace. It was only eight o' clock in the morning and the temperature was freezing; she could see her breath.

"I don't like surprises," Andy complained.

"Well, suck it up. You're just gonna have to deal with it."

"Miaaaaa."

"Andyyyy."

The little boy pouted, making her laugh until she stopped in her tracks. Her plan was officially destroyed, just like the toy store in front of them. Chicago's best toy store was in ruins and surrounded by police officers and flashy yellow caution tape. The scene was a chaotic zoo.

"What the hell happened here?" asked Mia softly to no one in particular. She was hoping she could buy Andy a toy for his birthday. Not anymore. Multiple questions swarmed around her. From the looks alone, it appeared as if the store blew up. This was one of the best toy stores in Chicago.

"Mia…" Andy asked questionably, his hand tightening and brown eyes glancing around hesitantly.

"C'mon, kid. Let's go." She didn't see any point sticking around, so she turned and led her brother the opposite direction. With no choice, she took Andy home, much to the kid's disappointment. Great, now Mia was considered the worst sister in the world, according to herself. It was bad enough her mom didn't get Andy anything toy-related.

Andy sulked as he traipsed to his room with the pace of a snail. Mia released a sigh and rubbed her eyes, careful not to smudge any makeup. When she heard his door close, she popped a squat on the couch and turned on the TV. Resting her legs on the coffee table, she lazily leaned back and skipped through channels using the remote.

Her mind was relatively blank; she just aimlessly scanned through the channels until she landed on a news channel. The subject was about the ruined toy store from where she was earlier and she turned up the volume, intently listening to the broadcaster.

The female broadcaster was explaining about the sudden vandalized store that Mia attempted to take Andy to.

"The notorious Lakeshore Strangler known as _Charles Lee Ray_ was discovered dead at the scene."

Mia's face drained of blood as she unfortunately recognized the picture on the TV screen. Her heart pounded like an African drum; she felt like she was going to faint. Plastered on the mug shot, no doubt, was the man with wiry dark hair and stormy eyes – the same guy who basically saved her ass from the disgusting old pervert.

"Holy shit," she cursed softly, her eyes wide as saucers.

Last night, she crossed paths with _the_ Lakeshore Strangler; the infamous psycho who murdered all those innocent victims recently. How could she have _not_ recognized him? For months now, his picture was plastered all over newspapers. Well, then again, that night was shrouded in darkness, and Mia could only depict his eyes. She remembered she couldn't actually see his face since the shadows were painted over his form.

But if she really did come across the guy, why didn't she end up like all the other victims who have encountered him? What made her so different? The fact that she was only a teenage girl about to get beaten and raped to death by a mugger? Mia was curious as to why he let her go. He looked at her like a stray kitten and just practically shooed her away – in fact, he _ordered_ her to go home.

That question lingered – _what made her so goddamn special?_

_._

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_Date Posted: 10/28/14_

_A/N: Only 3 days left until Halloween! Anybody got anything fun planned? Last weekend, I went to a haunted house/corn maze event and it was so much fun and so scary! My best friend was seconds away from having a heart attack, she was so freaked out. The people who own and run that place did a really good job of scaring everyone :D Thank you so much for the responses, The Beatles Honeydoll22 and Nellychick123. :D_

_- Nina _


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